VIDEO: Little Rock city director says innocent, denies hindering police

Dash camera video released

City Director Ken Richardson is shown in this file photo.
City Director Ken Richardson is shown in this file photo.

Little Rock City Director Ken Richardson pleaded innocent Wednesday to a charge of obstructing governmental operations, nearly two weeks after he was handcuffed by officers he approached while they apprehended a suspect.

Richardson, who represents Ward 2 on the city board, was kept in police custody for about 30 minutes Oct. 9 in an alleyway near a strip mall on Colonel Glenn Road, dash camera footage released this week by the Little Rock Police Department shows.

The city director said he was getting gas when he saw police speaking with a young man and decided to observe because of complaints he'd heard from people in his district about interactions with police.

The dash camera footage shows Little Rock officer Alexander Sullivan stop a man who matched the description of a robbery suspect. The man is handcuffed in front of the vehicle when he appears to see Richardson.

[Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-_MimJ8EDw]

"That guy right here's taking pictures," the man tells Sullivan. Richardson later tells the officer that he is not filming.

"Keep going. Keep going, please," Sullivan says to Richardson. "Right now, you're posing a risk to me. Yo, drive, please. He does not want you taking his picture."

Neither man can be seen in the dash camera footage.

A car lock sounds, then Sullivan says, "You're walking up on the police."

"I'm meeting with the chief tomorrow," Richardson says in the video, though he did not identify himself. The city director told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he had already scheduled a meeting with the chief for that day.

Sullivan asked Richardson to leave multiple times, saying Richardson would be arrested if he failed to leave, then asked him to turn around and put his arms behind his back.

According to the audio of the footage, Richardson is placed in the back of the police car, and the other man was sent to the Pulaski County jail for giving police a false name. After about 20 minutes, Richardson is led to the front of the car and kept in handcuffs while Sullivan fills out paperwork and issues a citation for Richardson's misdemeanor charge.

Little Rock Police Department spokesman Eric Barnes confirmed Wednesday that an internal investigation into the incident is ongoing. Barnes said to his knowledge, Sullivan is the only officer being investigated, although other officers would likely be interviewed.

Barnes said Wednesday that Little Rock Police Chief Keith Humphrey had apologized to Richardson after being told about the incident, strictly if Richardson had been arrested for taking pictures, which is legal.

Richardson's trial is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 28 in Little Rock Criminal Court.

Metro on 10/24/2019

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